We
commend Senator John McCain (Ariz.) for taking up the issue of election
reform and for urging swift action on bills that would provide funding
and set up commissions for further study of the election process. The
time is long overdue for the President to heed the call of McCain and
others and provide leadership on this important issue.
We
urge Congress to develop and pass truly nonpartisan election reform
legislation that will garner majority support from members of both
political parties. We support legislation that does the following:
- Creates a substantial, multi-year federal grants program to upgrade election technologies, including
- improved voting equipment and associated counting mechanisms, and
- uniform statewide technologies, such as computerized voter registration lists;
- Protects
the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act while
ensuring that any activities under the new legislation are consistent
with these existing laws,
- Sets federally-approved best practices” for grant-eligible technologies that include standards that ensure
- accessibility and convenience for all voters,
- accuracy, including safeguards for maintaining voter rolls, and
- nondiscrimination,
including full participation for language, racial, and ethnic
minorities and people with disabilities, and
- Includes criteria to ensure that jurisdictions with the most significant problems receive needed funding.
After
the unsettling conclusion to last year's election, many Americans'
faith in our democracy has been shaken. Congress should act now to
begin restoring that faith by improving the way ballots are cast and
counted in the United States.
